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Knee surgery
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Prolotherapy
& Knee surgery
● Knee
Surgery Based on an MRI?
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Knee
Injury Repair Without Surgery
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Knee Arthroscopy for
Osteosarthritis
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Surgical option - Ligament
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Cartilage Transplant Surgery
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ACL Treatment Options
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CW's story -
Bilateral Knee Pain
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Bilateral
Knee Replacements
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Cortisone, arthroscopy,
Prolotherapy
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Knee Replacement,
Arthroscopy
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Knee Instability
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Delamination
of cartilage
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Prolotherapy after Arthroscopy
Knee Cap pain
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Knee Cap
chondromalacia patella
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Knee Cap Patella Disorders
Cartilage Repair
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Cartilage Repair in Knee
Pain
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Knee Cartilage
Regeneration
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Delamination of
articular cartilage
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Regeneration of Articular Cartilage
Knee Replacement
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Prolotherapy - Knee
Replacement
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Prolotherapy - artificial knees
Ligament damage alternatives
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MCL
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ACL Injury and Hormones
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Knee
ligaments:
ACL, MCL and PCL
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Estrogen and ACL Injuries
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Ligament and
Tendon Laxities
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Pes Anserinus Tendons
Meniscal damage
alternatives
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Knee Menical Injury
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Meniscal Injury
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Meniscus case history
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Meniscus Tear case
history
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Meniscus surgery option
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Meniscal Surgery Options
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Lateral Meniscus - Case Study
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Acute Menical Tear
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Meniscal Tears and Degeneration
knee pain
articles
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Bilateral Knee Pain
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Knee Injury and Cortisone
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Prolotherapy, Diet - Golfer's Knee
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Knee Injuries in the Older Athlete
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Baker's Cyst and Prolotherapy
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Swimmer's Knee Injuries
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Knee
Braces
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MRI
accuracy
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Loose Bodies
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Artificial knees
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Baker's Cyst
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MRI -
See Knee Research Study
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Prolotherapy research links
Prolotherapy Videos

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Anterior Cruciate Ligament Video
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Prolotherapy Treatment to knee
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Runner's Knee Pain
Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP)
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Platelet Rich Plasma Solution
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Failed Surgery, Prolotherapy,
- PRP
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Labrum
and Menisci Degeneration and or Tears
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PRP Case Study
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PRP Prolotherapy as a Surgical Alternativefor the athlete
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PRP (Platelet
Rich Plasma) Prolotherapy Doctors
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Why Not Just Give Platelet Rich Plasma
To Every Patient?
Sports Injuries
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Knee Injuries in the Older Athlete
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Prolotherapy Links
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Bone Marrow
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Prolotherapy.org
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Learn about us
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Non-surgical alternative options
for
knee pain |
Prolotherapy, in my opinion, is the best way to avoid surgery! It can promote the repair of torn
cruciate ligaments,
torn medial collateral ligaments, injured
meniscus and
chondromalacia. (See
A Retrospective Study Shows Prolotherapy is Effective in the Treatment of
MRI-Documented Meniscal Tears)
There are some general principles about
healing knee injuries without surgery. One of the first principles is to keep the area moving, while at the same time protecting the joint from strong stresses.
immobilization of the injured joint causes the repaired area to become weaker and thinner and often leads to a stiff joint. This is due to a combination of adhesions in the joint and/or shortening of ligaments, and weakening the site where ligaments and tendons insert to bone. This is why the R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) treatment protocols for
soft tissue injury are so detrimental to healing.
Ligaments are especially sensitive to immobility, therefore it is not recommended for any type of ligament tear or sprain when the joint itself is stable.
Interestingly, it has been shown that the more we exercise a specific joint, the stronger the bone-ligament and bone-tendon
complexes become! Exercise specifically helps strengthen the
fibro-osseous
junction, which is where the ligament/tendon and bone attach to each other. Controlled activity is therefore an important part of preventing injury and healing from injury!
The standard of care for
ACL tears today is surgery.
ACL reconstruction surgery involves surgically placing a prosthesis or a tendon in the place of the injured ligament. The question to ask is, "Will this
surgery allow me to play again?" To answer this question athletes were followed for an average of nine years at the Sports Medicine Facility of Health Sciences at Linkoping University, in Sweden, by Dr. W. Maletius and associates. ACL replacement was performed with Dacron prostheses. In the nine year period, 65 percent of the patients required another
arthroscopy. Forty percent had
meniscal problems that were treated
arthroscopically. At the nine year follow-up only 48 percent of the patients had intact
menisci. Forty-four percent of the prostheses had ruptured during the follow-up period. Eighty-three percent of the patients had significant arthritic changes on x-ray in the operated knee. The authors concluded, "Based on the functional results of the patients with a ligament in place after nine years, only 14 percent of the original group had acceptable stability and knee function.
Surgical technique has improved and perhaps the gold standard for ACL reconstruction today is to use the
patellar tendon to replace the injured
ACL. The surgeon takes some of the patellar tendon and screws it into the femur and tibia bones to simulate an
anterior cruciate ligament. The long-term results are better than Dacron prosthesis, but are still not that great. In one five year study of arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with patellar tendon graft showed that 5 percent of the patients ruptured their grafts. Of the remaining patients, about 50 percent had symptoms in their knees. Of significance to athletes was that 53 percent of them could perform at the same or a better level at five years post surgery. This means that 47 percent were performing at a lower level of activity. In another study following the patients for seven years, a slightly longer period of time, only 46 percent of the athletes could perform at the same level as their preinjury status. In this study 26 percent needed another operative procedure after the ACL reconstruction.
Substituting the real ACL for an artificial one will never be ideal. The tendon grafts have been found to be three to four times stiffer than normal ACL's and artificial graft particles have been shown to cause proliferative arthritis when injected into knees. The patient's best option is always to first try stimulating the ACL to repair itself. Case reports of complete tears healing without any treatment have been reported in the literature.
Prolotherapy can be done exactly where the ACL attaches onto the tibia and femur, in cases of a partial, thereby stimulating the ligament on both ends to proliferate and strengthen.
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Ask Dr. Hauser
About Prolotherapy
Dr. Hauser is one of the leading experts in the treatment of chronic pain and
sports injuries with
Prolotherapy.

Caring
Medical and Rehabilitation Services
Call
708-848-7789
Ross Hauser, M.D.
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